Oh no! I'm surrounded by female ghosts!

Zhou Zhengyang has always been very efficient.

After everyone finished writing their letters, he completed the application for the flight route.

Su Ming also sketched out the appearance of the cursed doll and the girl in the mirror.

The painting skills are not outstanding, but the characteristics are very obvious.

Cursed dolls are characterized by being lolita-like, having limbs that resemble puppet joints, and wearing Lolita fashion.

The features of the girl in the mirror are rather blurry, because she only has a back view, and the half of her face that is exposed is severely rotten.

After handing the completed character drawings to Zhou Zhengyang, the group boarded a plane bound for Houhai Village.

On the plane, Su Ming asked Wen Qi curiously, "Sister School Beauty, why are we going to Houhai Village?"

Wen Qi pointed at Su Ming and asked, "Didn't you really want to go?"

"That place must be very important to you."

Su Ming grinned.

He was indeed very curious about Houhai Village.

Because it concerns whether one's knowledge of "flesh and blood proliferation" is complete.

This knowledge is very important.

In 2026, I originally planned to leave the first level of the abyss and go directly to Houhai Village to see if I could complete the "flesh and blood proliferation".

But think about it carefully: by 2026, Houhai Village will have been submerged by seawater.

Even if you go, you might not gain anything.

Conversely, in 2003, Houhai Village still existed, and based on the information they provided, the authorities unearthed a bizarre mermaid statue.

If all goes well, the mermaid statue will be able to complete its knowledge of "flesh and blood proliferation".

Three hours later, the group arrived near Houhai Village.

The village has been placed under strict lockdown and control, and all the villagers have been taken away for questioning.

The person in charge, Su Ming, actually knew him.

It's Gu Shen.

In 2003, Gu Shen was young and handsome, with no signs of aging or resentment in his eyes.

His demeanor was composed, his expression optimistic and relaxed, and his aura, though serious, was not heavy.

He stepped forward, extended his hand in greeting, and spoke in a proper and professional tone.

"Hello, I am Gu Shen, and I am temporarily serving as the interim head of the Houhai Village special incident."

He is much more optimistic and cheerful than he is in 2026.

Zhou Zhengyang went up and talked with Gu Shen for a while, and Su Ming and the others successfully entered the Houhai Village area.

Due to the distortion that occurred during the excavation of the mermaid statue, the entire Houhai Village is now cordoned off, prohibiting anyone from entering.

Wen Qi has a strong sense of insight.

She gently nudged Su Ming: "Do you know that person?"

Su Ming nodded: "I know him, we've met a few times before."

"In my time, he had a very bad mentality and a paranoid hatred of abnormality."

"The reason is that his wife died in an unusual event."

"I heard this from his daughter."

"Her daughter's name is Gu Yan, and she was the first handler I met."

"It was through her that I learned about the Bureau of Anomalies."

Su Ming sighed.

There's a heavy feeling of seeing the fate of everyone.

That's enough small talk.

Because Su Ming had already heard the chaotic and indistinct whispers.

He activated his Listening skill, and the whispers suddenly became clear and piercing.

As expected, the progress bar for flesh and blood proliferation began to increase at a slow pace.

"You can stop here."

"Don't come near."

Su Ming quickly stopped the crowd.

He has to walk the road ahead on his own.

Only Yu Mengnian shook her head: "I'll follow you."

"This level of whispering can't affect me."

Su Ming thought about it and did not refuse.

After bidding farewell to everyone, Su Ming led Yu Mengnian deeper into the area.

The whispers that filled the surroundings grew increasingly cold and damp.

The human-skin ghost is right.

The whispers here have a strong fishy smell.

It sounds very much like the whispering of the deformed humanoid fish statue.

Yu Mengnian rubbed her arms, and her description of the feeling became clearer.

She said, "The whispers here are more like countless invisible, intangible, slippery, sticky tentacles, densely packed on the skin, repeatedly rubbing and touching it, cold and disgusting."

So she took out an ancient-looking token, poured power into it, and instantly a circle of shimmering white barrier appeared around her.

Su Ming looked curiously at the token in Yu Mengnian's hand and asked, "What is this? Is it an unusual item?"

"no."

Yu Mengnian explained, "It's a magical artifact that I obtained by chance."

"A magic weapon!" Su Ming's eyes widened.

That makes sense. Yu Mengnian created a cultivation world in her dream, so it's normal for it to have magical treasures.

However, she was more curious about the unusual prop that Su Ming had mentioned.

"Oh, this," Su Ming explained to Yu Mengnian, "The strange objects that appear in the world can be processed and used as props by the processors."

"In 2026, items are divided into abnormal items, high-risk items, forbidden items, and the final sealed item."

It is estimated that the Anomaly Management Bureau did not have this technology in 2003.

This technology was developed by Chen Zhiwei and is a groundbreaking technology.

Now think about it.

Chen Zhiwei was able to develop a method to transform strange objects into props, mostly because he borrowed Yu Mengnian's magical artifact.

When Su Ming was still several hundred meters away from the mermaid statue, he stopped.

Even with the protection of magical artifacts, Yu Mengnian still experienced a slight distortion.

Tiny fish scales grew on the back of her hands and neck.

Even she couldn't help but scratch it a few times.

That's enough for now.

He turned to look at Yu Mengnian: "If anything unexpected happens, I will call you."

Yu Mengnian did not force her, but instead held a crystal-clear longsword in her hand.

And this sword represents her attitude.

Su Ming grinned, waved his hand with his back to Yu Mengnian, and continued to delve deeper.

The whispers ahead grew clearer.

Such sounds should be disordered and chaotic.

However, the sound changed in Su Ming's ears.

If you listen carefully, it sounds more like an ancient ballad with an exotic feel and a deep, melodious tune.

You know what, it actually sounds pretty good.

The ground beneath our feet had turned into a mud pit.

There are many small creatures in the mud, but their appearance has undergone a crazy change.

To be precise, it's the structure that looks exceptionally brutal and bizarre.

Moreover, the swamp is still expanding, constantly swallowing up the surrounding ground and slowly spreading outwards.

Su Ming looked at his receiving page.

The progress bar for flesh and blood proliferation has reached 73%, and it is still slowly increasing.

Soon, Su Ming saw the mermaid statue in the center of the mud pit.

Its appearance was indeed exceptionally alluring. It sat upright in the half-open shell, its head slightly raised, its posture devout, as if it were softly chanting or silently calling out.

Its material and size are very similar to the deformed humanoid fish statue.

Su Ming simply picked it up and examined it closely.

The next second, the mermaid statue fluctuated violently, and the whisper in its ear suddenly rose several times higher.

Countless tentacles formed from silt rose into the air.

These tentacles frantically clawed at Su Ming.

For Su Ming, the tentacles formed from the silt posed no threat other than getting his clothes dirty.

The mermaid statue in his hand came to life, its body twisting and struggling as it tried to close the seashell.

However, as Su Ming absorbed its knowledge, cracks appeared on the surface of the shell, and the mermaid began to rot at a visible speed.

It's like... it's almost been drained dry by Su Ming.

This situation is exactly the opposite of what everyone else is experiencing.

The rest of the people who came here did not even touch the mermaid statue.

Even just getting close will cause varying degrees of distortion.

Su Ming could not only get close, but also hold it in his hand and examine it carefully, without being affected in the slightest.

A dozen minutes later.

As the "Flesh and Blood Proliferation" progress bar reaches 100%.

The mermaid statue in Su Ming's hand was grayish-white, like a dried-out fish.

In the final moment of its collapse, the statue conveyed a vague message to him.

It's asking, "What exactly are you?"

Instead, Su Ming did not answer.

He closed his eyes, feeling his own flesh and blood grow back in full.

After reaching 100%, his entire body, except for his arms, can proliferate.

If he so desires, he can instantly break free from the inherent constraints of humanity and become a terrifying monster.

Judging from the three-meter arm span, the person must be at least six meters tall.

This change represents a profound shift in our understanding of life.

It's like an innate ability, perfectly natural and without any sense of incongruity.

When Su Ming opened his eyes again, he touched his face in confusion and murmured softly, "Why does it feel like this?"

"Do I feel more complete than before?"

He raised his hand and looked at his palm, which was constantly changing and reshaping.

One moment it's a strange fish head, the next a wolf head, then an eagle head, and then it transforms into a human head.

He raised his hand, which had transformed into a human head.

That was his own head.

He admired his head as if it were a mirror, and even muttered a compliment under his breath.

"So handsome."

Despite the terrifying and bizarre scene, Su Ming felt it was normal, since everyone would appreciate his appearance.

That is today.

The head is no longer Su Ming's weakness.

At the same time, he broke the established pattern of human beings.

He can transform the forms of all things through the proliferation of flesh and blood, as long as he so desires.

Just like the legendary seventy-two transformations, it can transform into anything at will, changing its form freely.

He seems to have become... harder to kill.